Point service system

ABSTRACT

Any points accumulated through a customer&#39;s purchase from a point service provider is kept track by customer information databases  12  and  14  in any corresponding point service provider servers  8, 10.  The user uses user terminals  2, 4  to access a trade service provider  6,  and receives various services, e.g., point trading and point cash, offered by the trade service provider  6.  The trade service provider  6  accesses, as appropriate, the point service provider servers  8, 10  so that the user&#39;s accumulated points are checked or updated. In this manner, the user can effectively use his/her points with no waste, and accordingly the point service system can be improved in its effective use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to point service systems and, morespecifically, to point service systems for providing customers withvarious services over the network in accordance with their acquiredpoints.

[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art

[0004] Point services have been popularly offered by shops to theircustomers. The customers acquire points in accordance with theirpurchases, and their points are accumulated to exchange for anyparticular gifts. Such point services are varying in type, and thecustomers' acquired points may be recorded on point cards which arehanded to the customers at whatever shop offering point services. Thepoints may also be stored in a database on a customer basis, and theshops notify, as appropriate, their customers of how many points theyhave acquired so far.

[0005] With such point services, the customers have the merit ofobtaining various gifts by regularly doing their shopping at specificshops. On the other hand, the shops can feel assured that their offeringpoint services encourage customers to visit them again, leading toincrease in their sales.

[0006] Some point services set expiration dates. In such a case, once anexpiration date has been passed, the corresponding points will beuseless. Accordingly, if the expiration date is getting close, thecustomers feel prompted to make purchases at the corresponding shop toacquire some more points to exchange those for any desired gifts. Thiswill also lead to increase in sales.

[0007] Such conventional point services, however, do not work effectiveenough if the customers make purchases at where they hardly visit duringtheir trip, for example. If the resultant points are not enough toexchange for any gifts, the points will be wasted.

[0008] Moreover, as to point services with expiration dates set, thepoints will be also wasted if not enough, even a few points, to exchangefor any desired gifts before its expiration date. If the customers donot want to waste their points, they have no choice but to exchangethose for any other gift available for the points. If there is noavailable gift, the points will be totally wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide pointservice systems which enhance the effective use of point serviceswithout letting customers waste their accumulated points.

[0010] The present invention has the following features to attain theobject above.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is directed to a pointservice system for offering various point services over a network inaccordance with the number of points possessed by a customer. The pointservice system comprises: a point service provider server for keepingtrack of the number of points on a customer basis in a customerinformation database; a user terminal; and a trade service providerwhich is connected, over the network, the point service provider serverand the user terminal. The trade service provider comprises: a dealrequest reception section for receiving a point deal request from theuser terminal; a deal making section for making a predetermined dealbased on the point deal; and a point change section for changing theuser's number of points which is kept track in the customer informationdatabase when there occurred a change to the user's points due to thedeal made by the deal making section.

[0012] As described above, in the aspect, the contents of the customerinformation database in the point service provider server are changed inaccordance with various deals arranged in the trade service provider.Therefore, point trading can be performed without restraint.

[0013] These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a system in its entirety according toone embodiment of the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the data structure of customerinformation databases 12 and 14 of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a sequence of processes for userregistration;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an exemplary service menu page;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exemplary user registration page;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of a userinformation database 16;

[0020]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a sequence of processes for usedpoint service registration;

[0021]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an exemplary used point serviceregistration page;

[0022]FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of a part relevantto the used point service information of the user information database16;

[0023]FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a sequence of processes for pointtrading service;

[0024]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an exemplary point trading page;

[0025]FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the data structure of a tradingcondition tracking database 18;

[0026]FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a sequence of processes for pointcash service;

[0027]FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an exemplary point cash page;

[0028]FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the data structure of a cash ratedatabase 20;

[0029]FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the data structure of a pointtracking database 22;

[0030]FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the data structure of the cash ratedatabase in a case of varying cash rates in accordance with popularity;

[0031]FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the data structure of a restrictioninformation database;

[0032]FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the data structure of a trading ratedatabase; and

[0033]FIG. 20 is a diagram showing another data structure of the tradingrate database.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0034] In the below, one embodiment of the present invention isdescribed by referring to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 1, described is a system of the presentembodiment in its entirety. In FIG. 1, the system includes userterminals 2 and 4, a trade service provider 6, and point serviceprovider servers 8 and 10, all of which are connected over acommunications network 11.

[0036] The user terminals 2 and 4 can be realized by personal computers,mobile phones, navigation devices of a vehicle-mounting type, and thelike, which are provided with an input function, a display function, anda communications function. The trade service provider 6 includesdatabases exemplified by a user information database 16, a tradingcondition tracking database 18, a cash rate database 20, and a pointtracking database 22 so as to provide the user with various services,which are characteristics of the present invention. The point serviceprovider servers 8 and 10 are provided on a point service providerbasis, and therein, customer information databases 12 and 14 keep trackof the customers' points accumulated in accordance with their purchasesas customer information together with any other specific informationabout the customers such as customer IDs and passwords (hereinafter,customer specific information).

[0037] Described next, roughly, is how services are provided in thesystem of the present embodiment.

[0038] Customers' points accumulated in accordance with their purchasesat whatever point service provider are kept track by the correspondingpoint service provider servers 8 and 10, specifically, by the customerinformation databases 12 and 14 together with customer specificinformation including customer IDs and passwords. FIG. 2 shows anexample of the data structure of the customer information databases 12and 14. Every time a customer makes purchases, his/her points stored inthe customer information databases 12 and 14 are updated. The customerspecific information is, for example, registered at the customer's firstpurchase, and is used as means for authenticating the customer, ifnecessary, when he/she wants to know how many points he/she has, or toexchange his/her points for a gift.

[0039] The user accesses the trade service provider 6 by using the userterminals 2 and 4 so as to receive various services (e.g., pointtrading, point cash) provided by the trade service provider 6. At thattime, the trade service provider 6 accesses any appropriate pointservice provider servers 8 and 10 so that the user's points are checkedor updated. The trade service provider 6 then notifies the processingresult to the user terminals 2 and 4, and then ends the processing.

[0040] The operation of the system when the trade service provider 6offers various services is described below in more detail.

User Registration

[0041] In order to use various services offered by the trade serviceprovider 6, the user has to go through user registration first. Byreferring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, a sequence of processes foruser registration is now described.

[0042] The user first accesses the trade service provider 6 (S1). Inresponse, the trade service provider 6 transmits a service menu (S11).An example of the service menu is shown in FIG. 4. The user then selectsan item “User Registration” from the service menu for transmission (S2).

[0043] Then, the trade service provider 6 transmits a user registrationpage (S12). An example of the user registration page is shown in FIG. 5.In accordance with the format of the user registration page, the userinputs his/her specific information (e.g., name, user ID, password), anaddress for gift delivery, and a bank account for money transfer. Theseinputs are transmitted as user information (S3). The trade serviceprovider 6 registers the user information coming from the user terminals2 and 4 to the user information database 16 (S13). An example of thedata structure of the user information database 16 is shown in FIG. 6.Here, an item “Used Point Service Information” of FIG. 6 is left forlater description. Once registration to the user information database 16has been completed, the trade service provider 6 transmits, to the userterminals 2 and 4, a notification that user registration is nowcompleted (S14). This is the end of the user registration.

Used Point Service Registration

[0044] After completion of the user registration, the user needs tonotify, for registration, the trade service provider 6 of what pointservice(s) he/she has been using. By referring to the flowchart of FIG.7, a sequence of processes for used point service registration is nowdescribed.

[0045] The user first accesses the trade service provider 6 (S21). Inresponse, the trade service provider 6 transmits a service menu (S31).This service menu is the same as that shown in FIG. 4. The user thenselects an item “Used Point Service Registration” from the service menufor transmission (S22).

[0046] The trade service provider 6 transmits a used point serviceregistration page (S32). An example of the used point serviceregistration page is shown in FIG. 8. In accordance with the format ofthe used point service registration page, the user makes inputs on acurrently-using point service basis. Specifically, the user inputs usedpoint service information, which is composed of point serviceidentification information, e.g., point service provider's name, and thecustomer specific information which has been already registered on apoint service basis as shown in FIG. 2. The used point serviceinformation is transmitted together with the user specific informationwhich has been set at the time of user registration (S23).

[0047] The trade service provider 6 checks the validity of the usedpoint service information coming from the user terminals 2 and 4. To bespecific, the trade service provider 6 transmits, to the point serviceprovider servers 8 and 10 which correspond to the user's inputted pointservice identification information, a customer authentication signalincluding the user's inputted customer specific information (S33). Inresponse, the point service provider servers 8 and 10 compare thecustomer specific information included in the customer authenticationsignal with the customer specific information in the customerinformation databases 12 and 14 (S41). If the customer is authenticatedthereby, a customer authentication proof is transmitted (S42). Noteherein that, if the user is not authenticated as a customer due to anyerror found in the user's inputted customer specific information, theuser terminals 2 and 4 are notified as such via the trade serviceprovider 6. Therefore, this used point service registration results in afailure.

[0048] Upon receipt of the customer authentication proof, the tradeservice provider 6 registers the corresponding used point serviceinformation to the user information database 16 (S34). FIG. 9 shows apart of the exemplary data structure of the user information database 16where the used point service information is registered. After completelyregistering the used point service information to the user informationdatabase 16, the trade service provider 6 transmits, to the userterminals 2 and 4, a notification that registration of the used pointservice information is now completed (S35). This is the end of the usedpoint service registration.

[0049] After completion of both the user registration and the used pointservice registration, various services offered by the trade serviceprovider 6 become available for the user. Described below are thoseservices available from the trade service provider 6.

Point Trading Service

[0050] The user can trade his/her points of any specific point servicewith other users' points of any other point service by mutual agreement.By referring to the flowchart of FIG. 10, described below is a sequenceof processes for such a point trading service.

[0051] The user first accesses the trade service provider 6 (S51). Inresponse, the trade service provider 6 transmits a service menu (S61).This service menu is the same as that of FIG. 4. The user selects anitem “Point Trading” from the service menu for transmission (S52).

[0052] The trade service provider 6 then transmits a point trading page(S62). An example of the point trading page is shown in FIG. 11. Inaccordance with the format of the point trading page, the userdesignates how many points of which point service are to be traded underwhat trading condition. Here, the trading condition indicates how manypoints of which point service are asked for by when. Such information istransmitted together with the user specific information (S53).

[0053] The trade service provider 6 checks the validity of the tradingcondition coming from the user terminals 2 and 4. In more detail, thetrade service provider 6 reads, from the user information database 16,the customer specific information corresponding to the user's points fortrading, and to the point service provider servers 8 and 10, transmits apoint check signal including the customer specific information (S63).Based on the point check signal, the point service provider servers 8and 10 read the user's points from the customer information databases 12and 14 for transmission to the trade service provider 6 (S71). If theuser's points are larger in number than the points for trading, thetrade service provider 6 determines that the trading condition is valid(S64). Here, if the trading condition is not determined as beingdesirably valid, the user terminals 2 and 4 are notified as such,whereby point trading does not work out.

[0054] When the trading condition is determined as being valid (S64),the trade service provider 6 searches the trading condition trackingdatabase 18 for any appropriate trading condition satisfying the tradingcondition (S65). Here, the trading condition tracking database 18includes other users' trading conditions so far registered thereto. FIG.12 shows an example of the data structure of the trading conditiontracking database 18. As one example, upon receipt of a point tradingpage which asks for a trade of “200 points (i.e., 200P) of X shop” for“100P of Y shop”, the trade service provider 6 searches the tradingcondition tracking database 18 for any appropriate trading conditionsatisfying the above trading condition. In this example of FIG. 12, thetrade service provider 6 selects the trading condition found under theuser ID of “III” to work out this point trading.

[0055] After any appropriate trading condition is selected (S65), thetrade service provider 6 notifies the point service provider servers 8and 10 that the number of the user's points is to be changed (S66). Thisis done to help the point service provider servers 8 and 10 to reflectthe change to the points keeping track of therein. Specifically, thetrade service provider 6 transmits, to the corresponding point serviceprovider servers 8 and 10, a signal including the customer specificinformation which has been registered in the user information database16, and information about the specific increase or decrease of thepoints (S66).

[0056] Upon receipt of the notification, the point service providerservers 8 and 10 update the points in the customer information databases12 and 14 (S72), and then notifies the trade service provider 6 thatpoint update is now completed (S73). In response to the notification,the trade service provider 6 notifies the corresponding user terminals 2and 4 that point trading is now completed (S67).

[0057] Here, in step S65 of FIG. 10, if found no appropriate tradingcondition, the user's trading condition is registered in the tradingcondition tracking database 18 together with the user's ID so as to bekept track of until its due date comes. In such a manner, the user'strading condition can wait for any appropriate trading condition of anyother user until its due date comes. The due date can be arbitrarily setby users.

[0058] In the above, point trading presumably requires perfect matchingbetween two trading conditions. Alternatively, in order to facilitatepoint trading between users, the matching degree between tradingconditions may be lowered. For example, if found any trading conditionoffering points with a point difference from the user's points fallswithin a range of 10% or less, the trade service provider 6 notifies theuser as such to let him/her think whether or not to compromise. Also,the contents of the trading condition tracking database 18 may be madeaccessible to users.

[0059] In a case that point trading is possible only among three or moreusers, this will do.

[0060] When point trading works out between users, the users may berequired to pay fees to the trade service provider 6.

[0061] By using such a point trading service, the user can trade his/herunwanted points for any other points which he/she wants. Accordingly,even if the customers make purchases at where they hardly visit duringtheir trip, for example, the resultant points can be traded for anyother points they need for gift exchange. Therefore, the points can beeffectively used with no waste.

Point Cash Service

[0062] The user can cash his/her points of any specific point service ata predetermined rate. By referring to the flowchart of FIG. 13,described below is a sequence of processes for such a point cashservice.

[0063] The user first accesses the trade service provider 6 (S81). Inresponse, the trade service provider 6 transmits a service menu (S91).This service menu is the same as that of FIG. 4. The user then selectsan item “Point Cash” from the service menu for transmission (S82).

[0064] The trade service provider 6 transmits a point cash page (S92).An example of the point cash page is shown in FIG. 14. In accordancewith the format of the point cash page, the user designates cashinformation about how many points of which point service provider he/shewants to cash. The cash information is transmitted together with theuser specific information (S83).

[0065] The trade service provider 6 then checks the validity of the cashinformation coming from the user terminals 2 and 4. To be specific, thetrade service provider 6 reads, from the user information database 16,the customer specific information corresponding to the points for cash.Then, the point check signal including the customer specific informationis transmitted to the point service provider servers 8 and 10 (S93).Based on the point check signal, the point service provider servers 8and 10 read the user's points from the customer information databases 12and 14 for transmission to the trade service provider 6 (S101). If theuser's points are larger in number than the points for cash, the tradeservice provider 6 determines that the cash information is valid (S94).Here, if the cash information is not determined as being desirablyvalid, the user terminals 2 and 4 are notified as such, whereby pointcash is failed.

[0066] Once the cash information has been determined as being valid(S94), the trade service provider 6 refers to the cash rate database 20so as to calculate a cash rate with respect to the user's points forcash (S95). FIG. 15 shows an example of the data structure of the cashrate database 20. As one example, if the user's points for cash arethose offered by a “Z shop”, the cash rate database 20 is referred tofor finding a basic rate “2.50 (Yen/P)”. Then, multiplying the basicrate by the number of points for cash will find the cash amount.

[0067] In FIG. 15, a point expiration date is arbitrarily set by each ofthe point service providers, and indicates until when the point serviceis to be valid. Once the expiration date has been passed, thecorresponding points become worthless. In this viewpoint, unless thepoints are many enough for gift exchange, the closer the expirationdate, the less in value the corresponding points are. Therefore, thenumber of days left before the expiration date from today is calculatedso that the resultant number is utilized as a variable for calculatingthe cash rate. In this manner, the points are to be appropriatelydecreased in value depending on whether the expiration date is gettingclose. For example, the cash rate may be calculated by multiplying thebasic rate by a rate which is decreased in accordance with the number ofdays left before the expiration date.

[0068] After the cash amount is calculated (S95), the trade serviceprovider 6 notifies the point service provider servers 8 and 10 that thenumber of points is to be changed (S96). This is done to help the pointservice provider servers 8 and 10 to reflect the change to the pointskeeping track of therein. Specifically, the trade service provider 6transmits, to the corresponding point service provider servers 8 and 10,a signal including the customer specific information which has beenregistered in the user information database 16, and information aboutthe specific increase or decrease of the points.

[0069] In response to the notification, the point service providerservers 8 and 10 update the customer's points in the customerinformation databases 12 and 14 (S102), and then notify the tradeservice provider 6 that point update is now completed (S103). Inresponse to the notification, the trade service provider 6 transfers thecash amount calculated in step S96 to the user's bank account specifiedat the time of user registration (S97). Here, the bank account is foundin the user information database 16 as shown in FIG. 6. After completionof money transfer, the trade service provider 6 reflects the number ofthe user's points which has been cashed to the point tracking database22 (S98). FIG. 16 shows the data structure of the point trackingdatabase 22, which is provided to keep track of, on a point servicebasis, the resultant points bought from the user in the above manner,and now possessed by the trade service provider 6. After completion ofregistration to the database, the user terminals 2 and 4 are notifiedthat the point cash is now completed (S99)O

[0070] In the above, the user does not specifically check and approvethe cash amount. An additional step may be provided to notify the userterminals 2 and 4 of the cash amount calculated in step S96 of FIG. 13so that the user's approval is obtained.

[0071] In the above described point cash service, the cash ratepresumably varies depending on the number of days left before theexpiration date. This is not restrictive, and the cash rate may be setto vary over time as circumstances demand in accordance with some otherparameters. As one example, the higher the popularity or rarity of thepoints at the time of cash, the higher the cash rate becomes. Thepopularity of the points may be automatically determined by counting thenumber of times specified as “points asking for” found in the tradingcondition of FIG. 12 in the point trading service. If this is the case,as shown in FIG. 17, the cash rate database 20 keeps track of“popularity”, which is equal to the number of times specified as “pointsasking for”. The basic rate is accordingly increased or decreased basedon the “popularity”, i.e., the number of times, so that the cash rate isdetermined.

[0072] By using such a point cash service, the user can cash his/herunwanted points, or points which are to be soon expired. Accordingly,even if the customers make purchases at where they hardly visit duringtheir trip, for example, the resultant points can be cashed. Therefore,the points can be effectively used with no waste.

[0073] The original purpose of the point services is to encouragecustomers to regularly make purchases at whatever shop offering pointservices. The issue here is, if the above described point tradingservice or point cash service becomes popular, the point services becomeless appealing, causing in convenience for some shops. In this viewpoint, it is preferable for the point service system to include such amechanism that point service providers can exercise their discretion todecide whether or not to allow such a point trading service or a pointcash service. In this case, the trade service provider 6 keeps track ofinformation about restrictions imposed on point trading or point cash inany appropriate database (not shown), which is now referred to as arestriction information database. As shown in FIG. 18, the restrictioninformation database keeps track of information about whether the pointtrading service and/or the point cash service is available on a pointservice provider basis. In the example of FIG. 18, the points offered bythe “X shop” can be cashed through the point cash service, but nottraded through the point trading service. The restriction informationdatabase is referred to at the time of the point trading service or thepoint cash service. At the time of the point trading service, in FIG.10, in a time range from step S53 to step S63, i.e., after a tradingcondition coming from the user terminals 2 and 4 is received and beforea point check signal is transmitted, the restriction informationdatabase is referred to for checking whether the point trading serviceis allowed for the points included in the trading condition. If allowed,the processes are continued, otherwise the point trading is terminated.The same process is applied to the point cash service.

[0074] Such a restriction information database is preferably arbitrarilyset by each of the point service providers via the communicationsnetwork 11.

[0075] Here, the points which are kept track by the trade serviceprovider 6 in the point tracking database 22 can be cashed by the pointservice providers, sold to any other users, and traded for any otherusers' points, as appropriate. By arbitrarily setting rates for cash,selling, and trading, the trade service provider 6 can benefit withoutcharging the users a fee, for example.

[0076] In the case that the user wants to trade his/her points for anyother points he/she wants, the user transmits a point trading requesttogether with the user specific information from the user terminals 2and 4 to the trade service provider 6. Here, the point trading requestincludes the user specific information and information about how manypoints of which point service are to be traded for how many points ofwhich point service. Here, in the trade service provider 6, anyappropriate database (not shown), which is now referred to as a tradingrate database, keeps track of trading rates in such a table as shown inFIG. 19. Upon receipt of the point trading request, the trade serviceprovider 6 performs point trading in accordance with the trading ratesfound in the table. Here, the trading rates may be freely set.

[0077] When the trading rates are so set as shown in FIG. 19, pointtrading will show reversibility. Assuming that a user wants to tradehis/her 10000 points of an X shop with points of a Y shop, a tradingrate for such a case is 0.40. Accordingly, the user will obtain 4000points of the Y shop. Thereafter, if the same user wants to trade againhis/her 4000 points of the Y shop with points of the X shop, a tradingrate therefor is 2.50, leading back to 10000 points of the X shop whichthe user originally had.

[0078] On the other hand, when the trading rates are so set as shown inFIG. 20, point trading will show irreversibility. Assuming that a userwants to trade his/her 10000P points of an X shop with points of a Yshop, a trading rate for such a case is 0.35. Accordingly, the user willobtain 3500 points of the Y shop. Thereafter, if the same user wants totrade again his/her 3500 points of the Y shop with points of the X shop,a trading rate therefor is 2.25, leading to 7875 points of the X shopwhich are less than those the user originally had. Here, the decrease,i.e., 2125 points of the X shop, is the trade service provider's profit.

[0079] Here, those trading rates which are kept track in the tradingrate database can be arbitrarily set. As mentioned in the foregoing, theoriginal purpose of the point services is to encourage customers toregularly make purchases at whatever shop offering point services. Theissue here is, if points offered thereby are easily traded forcompetitors' points, the point services result in assisting the shops tolose their customers to the competitors. An effective solution to such aproblem is setting trading rates with respect to the competitorsespecially lower than usual, or prohibiting point trading for thecompetitors' points. Conversely, setting trading rates with respect toallies especially higher than usual will also work. Such weighing to thetrading rates may be done in the same manner as the cash rates of FIG.15. That is, for point trading, a constant basic rate may be set so asto use as a basis to vary the trading rates in accordance with therelationship between the point service providers, i.e., competitors orallies. In such cases, a database may be additionally provided to keeptrack of the relationship among the point service providers so that thisdatabase is referred to for determining the trading rates.

[0080] In such a process applied based on the point trading request, asalready described, it is preferable to check the validity of the pointtrading request based on the user specific information. The tradingrates may, as already described, vary over time in accordance with theexpiration dates and popularity of the points.

Other Services

[0081] Other than the above services, the trade service provider 6 canoffer various more services.

[0082] For example, there may be a “messaging service” for notifying theuser terminals 2 and 4 when the user's points are accumulated to be manyenough for gift exchange, when his/her points reaches the numberexchangeable with better gifts, and when the user's points are about tobe expired, for example. Such a “messaging service” may be used tonotify what service is available for the user whenever the user's pointsare changed in number due to the point trading service or the pointpurchase. For example, if the user's points are increased in numberafter the point trading service, a list indicating what gifts areavailable for the points may be transmitted to the user terminals 2 and4.

[0083] There is also a “gift order service” offered to the user whenhis/her points reaches any specific number for gift exchange. With thegift order service, the user terminals 2 and 4 may be automaticallynotified and prompted for gift exchange, and any gift selected by theuser may be accordingly ordered. With such a service, the userinformation registered at the time of user registration and stored inthe user information database 16 is utilized to know the user's name andaddress for gift delivery.

[0084] Also, there may be a “point lotto service” for trading or cashany unwanted points or long-unused point cards in the same manner as alotto.

[0085] When any new gift or service is added, a “gift informationcommercial service” is also possible for providing such information tousers who are considered appropriate for the new gift or service.

[0086] As such, with the present point service system, the trade serviceprovider 6 can link a plurality of point service providers andcustomers. Therefore, the services offered by the point serviceproviders to the customers can be more generic.

[0087] So far, points have to be many enough for gift exchange,otherwise considered valueless. According to the present point service,however, the contents of the customer information databases 12 and 14are changed in accordance with various deals arranged in the tradeservice provider 6. Therefore, no matter how many the user's points are,every point is well worth as gift certificates and money. Accordingly,there may be a possibility for point auction, extending the use of thepoints to new possibilities.

[0088] While the invention has been described in detail, the foregoingdescription is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It isunderstood that numerous other modifications and variations can bedevised without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A point service system for offering various pointservices over a network in accordance with the number of pointspossessed by a customer, said system comprising: a point serviceprovider server for keeping track of the number of points on a customerbasis in a customer information database; a user terminal; and a tradeservice provider which is connected, over the network, said pointservice provider server and said user terminal, wherein said tradeservice provider comprises: deal request reception means for receiving apoint deal request from said user terminal; deal making means for makinga predetermined deal based on said point deal request; and point changemeans for changing the user's number of points which is kept track insaid customer information database when there occurred a change to theuser's points due to the deal made by said deal making means.
 2. Thepoint service system according to claim 1, wherein said point dealrequest includes a point trading condition, said trade service providerfurther comprises a trading condition tracking database for keepingtrack of said point trading condition, said deal making means searchesfor said trading condition tracking database to find any point tradingcondition corresponding to the point trading condition received by saiddeal request reception means for point trading, and said point changemeans changes the user's number of points kept track in said customerinformation database based on a result of said point trading.
 3. Thepoint service system according to claim 2, wherein when the pointtrading condition corresponding to the point trading condition receivedby said deal request reception means is not found in said tradingcondition tracking database, the received point trading condition isnewly registered to said trading condition tracking database.
 4. Thepoint service system according to claim 3, wherein said point tradingcondition includes information about a due date, and said tradingcondition tracking database keeps track of said point trading conditionuntil said due date comes.
 5. The point service system according toclaim 2, wherein said customer information database includes customerspecific information, and said point service system further comprisesmeans for checking a validity of the point trading condition received bysaid deal request reception means based on the user's number of pointsand said customer specific information kept track in said customerinformation databases.
 6. The point service system according to claim 1,wherein said trade service provider further comprises a cash ratedatabase for keeping track of a point cash rate, said point deal requestincludes cash information, said deal making means calculates a cashamount based on the cash information received by said deal requestreception means, and said cash rate, and makes a payment based on saidcash amount, and said point change means changes the user's number ofpoints kept track in said customer information database based on aresult of cash preformed by said deal making means.
 7. The point servicesystem according to claim 6, wherein said cash rate vary over time ascircumstances demand.
 8. The point service system according to claim 7,wherein said cash rate database further includes information about anexpiration date, and said cash rate is set in consideration of saidexpiration date in terms of the number of days left therefore.
 9. Thepoint service system according to claim 7, wherein said cash ratedatabase further includes information about popularity, and said cashrate is set in consideration of said popularity.
 10. The point servicesystem according to claim 6, wherein said customer information databasefurther includes customer specific information, and said point servicesystem further comprises means for checking a validity of the cashinformation received by said deal request reception means based on thenumber of points and said customer specific information kept track insaid customer information database.
 11. The point service systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said trade service provider furthercomprises a restriction information tracking database for keeping trackof restriction information which defines whether or not said deal isallowed, and said deal making means determines, based on saidrestriction information, whether or not a deal relating to the pointdeal request received by said deal request means is allowed, and onlywhen allowed, the deal is made.
 12. The point service system accordingto claim 1, wherein said trade service provider further comprises apoint tracking database f or keeping track of the number of pointsobtained through the deal made by said deal making means, and the pointskept track in said point tracking database are cashed in a form of asale to users or point service providers.
 13. The point service systemaccording to claim 1, wherein said trade service provider furthercomprises a trading rate database f or keeping track of a trading rate for point services, said point deal request includes a point tradingrequest, said deal making means calculates the number of points to beacquired based on said trading rate, and the point trading requestreceived by said deal request reception means, and carries out pointtrading, and said point change means changes the user's number of pointskept track in said customer information databases based on a result ofsaid point trading.
 14. The point service system according to claim 13,wherein said trading rate is determined based on a relationship betweenany relevant point service providers.
 15. The point service systemaccording to claim 13, wherein said customer information databasefurther includes customer specific information, and said point servicesystem further comprises means for checking a validity of the pointtrading request received by said deal request reception means based onthe number of points and said customer specific information kept trackin said customer information database.
 16. A trade service deviceconnected to a point service provider server for keeping track of thenumber of points on a customer basis in a customer information databaseand a user terminal over a network for offering various point servicesin accordance with the number of points possessed by a customer, saidtrade service device comprises: deal request reception means forreceiving a point deal request from said user terminal; deal makingmeans for making a predetermined deal based on said point deal request;and point change means for changing the user's number of points which iskept track in said customer information database when there occurred achange to the user's points due to the deal made by said deal makingmeans.
 17. The trade service device according to claim 16, furthercomprising a trading condition tracking database for keeping track of apoint trading condition for point trading, wherein said point dealrequest includes the point trading condition, said deal making meanssearches for said trading condition tracking database to find any pointtrading condition corresponding to the point trading condition receivedby said deal request reception means for point trading, and said pointchange means changes the user's number of points kept track in saidcustomer information database based on a result of said point trading.18. The trade service device according to claim 16, further comprising acash rate database for keeping track of a point cash rate, wherein saidpoint deal request includes cash information, said deal making meanscalculates a cash amount based on the cash information received by saiddeal request reception means, and said cash rate, and makes a paymentbased on said cash amount, and said point change means changes theuser's number of points kept track in said customer information databasebased on a result of cash preformed by said deal making means.
 19. Thetrade service device according to claim 16, further comprising arestriction information tracking database for keeping track ofrestriction information which defines whether or not said deal isallowed, wherein said deal making means determines, based on saidrestriction information, whether or not a deal relating to the pointdeal request received by said deal request means is allowed, and onlywhen allowed, the deal is made.
 20. The trade service device accordingto claim 16, further comprising a trading rate database for keepingtrack of a trading rate for point services, wherein said point dealrequest includes a point trading request, said deal making meanscalculates the number of points to be acquired based on said tradingrate, and the point trading request received by said deal requestreception means, and carries out point trading, and said point changemeans changes the user's number of points kept track in said customerinformation databases based on a result of said point trading.
 21. Apoint service method for offering various point services over a networkin accordance with the number of points possessed by a customer, saidmethod comprising the steps of: keeping track of the number of points ona customer basis in a customer information database; receiving a pointdeal request from said user terminal; making a predetermined deal basedon said point deal request; and changing the user's number of pointswhich is kept track in said customer information database when thereoccurred a change to the user's points due to the deal made by said dealmaking means.
 22. The point service method according to claim 21,further comprising the step of keeping track of said point tradingcondition in a trading condition tracking database for point trading,wherein said point deal request received in said deal making stepincludes the point trading condition, said deal making step searches forsaid trading condition tracking database to find any point tradingcondition corresponding to the point trading condition received in saiddeal request reception step for point trading, and said point changestep changes the user's number of points kept track in said customerinformation database based on a result of said point trading.
 23. Thepoint service method according to claim 21, further comprising the stepof keeping track of a point cash rate in a cash rate database, whereinthe point deal request received in said deal request reception stepincludes cash information, said deal making step calculates a cashamount based on the cash information received in said deal requestreception step, and said cash rate, and makes a payment based on saidcash amount, and said point change step changes the user's number ofpoints kept track in said customer information database based on aresult of cash preformed by said deal making means.
 24. The pointservice method according to claim 21, further comprising the step ofkeeping track of restriction information which defines whether or notsaid deal is allowed in a restriction information database, wherein saiddeal making step determines, based on said restriction information whichis kept track in said restriction information database, whether or not adeal relating to the point deal request received in said deal requeststep is allowed, and only when allowed, the deal is made.
 25. The pointservice method according to claim 21, further comprising the step ofkeeping track of a trading rate for point services in a trading ratedatabase, wherein the point deal request received in said deal requestreception step includes a point trading request, said deal making stepcalculates the number of points to be acquired based on said tradingrate, and the point trading request received in said deal requestreception step, and carries out point trading, and said point changestep changes the user's number of points kept track in said customerinformation databases based on a result of said point trading.